What To Buy A New Mummy!

It’s so lovely, such a joy to welcome a friend’s new baby into the world and I myself have been on the receiving end of some very gorgeous gifts from my pals recently after having our fourth baby Posie in February. Because she is my fourth and because most of my Mum friends already have children they were incredibly thoughtful when it came to the welcome gifts and as well as presents for the baby (boy did we get treated with those) they also bought me lots of things for me (and the big kids too) which were SO welcome! Looking after babies isn’t easy in the first weeks and these kind presents went a long way to making me feel really special and loved. On about day three, when you start to get really emotional, this was the perfect hug (when we couldn’t actually hug because of lockdown) that I needed!

So, what would I recommend buying for a new Mummy, be it a first baby or indeed number 4? Well, these would be my top 5 present ideas!

1 – Firstly, let’s talk food. I was well aware after having three children before that after the baby came we would need to be fed and fed easily which is why I booked Hello Fresh boxes to arrive from the first week after Posie came along. I still have them on order for feeding the family at the end of the day needs to be as easy as possible. I also really love the idea of frozen meals pre prepared, especially when it might come to a date night (which let’s face it, lockdown or none are going to be at home for the foreseeable with a new-born) and my friend Hannah and her husband have just launched a new venture with her restaurant Farmyard in Norwich whereby you can enjoy seasonal local produce handcrafter by their chefs in your own home by buying their Farmyard Frozen range. Believe me, if someone had arrived with a bundle of gourmet frozen dinners I’d have kissed them all over! Another idea (adopted by two of my amazing friends) was to cook me dinner and bring it round – trust there is no baby grow in the world as good as a Sunday roast brought to your door when you’re three weeks deep with a newborn!

2 – Luxury hampers were sent to my door in abundance filled with delicious treats and little bits like candles, books and face masks – this was amazing and I loved opening them as well as finding the time to have a little bit of self-care post birth. I’m still using all the creams and potions and looking forward very much to a spa day booked for me for the future, when I feel I can leave the baby, so that I can really have a pamper. While a new Mummy probably won’t be able to head off to the spa straight away a spa gift voucher for a day or experience can be the perfect treat to enjoy looking forward to as much as enjoying it when it comes!

3 – Don’t forget the older kids. This is almost more important in my eyes than buying a gift for the new baby because it’s the older ones who understand that things have changed, Mummy’s attention has been divided and they might really be feeling a little bit forgotten in all the excitement and wonder. It’s always mega important to me that the older children are made to feel just as special as they always have been and so when I buy for my friends who have babies I always ensure to put some treats in for the big kids too. My friends were the same and even just small chocolates and a card to congratulate them on becoming big brothers and a big sister went such a long way. Absolutely beyond thoughtful and so appreciated!

4 – Breast feeding is very time consuming, especially in the first few weeks and getting established is hard work no matter what number baby you’re on. Feeding through the night is the toughest and with nothing to do to fill those hours of awake you need some really good TV to get you through. I think one of the best presents I had was from my friend Sarah who put all the seasons of Greys Anatomy on a memory stick for me. Seasons which haven’t even aired in the UK yet were suddenly within my grasp and I was so thankful (still am as I’m still working through them) and I just thought what an amazing present! She also sent a bottle of Tattinger as she knows me SO well!

5 – The last gift is possibly the easiest of all, it just involves letting your new Mum friend know you are there to lend a hand by lending it without waiting to be asked. It’s really hard to ask for help as a new Mum as it almost feels like you have to prove to the world that you can do this. When I lived in London my downstairs neighbour used to let herself in when we were out and pick up our washing to do it for us which was immense, like having my Mum on hand almost – my own Mum lived 200 miles away then but this is exactly what she’d have been doing for me had she been closer. Doing a friend’s washing might be a tall order but simple things like saying “I’ll get the kids from school for you” before delivering her other children home is such a help in those early days. Tell, don’t ask and do, don’t wait for instruction. Friendship is about standing in between each other’s dominoes so that if one has a wobble the rest don’t fall down. You help now and someone will help you right back when you need it!

Collaboration.